Salvation
by K. Knocks
Summary: Rebecca is escaping an abusive marriage in Hawaii, and she's pregnant. The last thing she needs is for a boy to think he's in love with her. Slightly AU. Post-Breaking Dawn. No Renesmee. ON HOLD/BEING RE-WRITTEN.
1. Prologue: Dear Journal

**A/N:** So, hey there! This is going to be about Rebecca Gaugakao (nee Black) and Embry Call. This first chapter (actually, it's a prologue) is in first person, and it's made up of entries from Rebecca's journal. The rest of the story, or at least most of it, will be in third person. Enjoy. (:

**Disclaimer****:** Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, not I. I just use her characters as my play things.

* * *

Wednesday, August 11th, 2004

I'm a married woman now. Rebecca Jaci Gaugakao. That last name's a mouthful, huh? I considered keeping my own, but I knew Jason would have been disappointed. He would have asked something like, "What's so wrong with my last name, eh?" and gone on some rant or another about how bland my family name is. He has such a temper. But that's alright. He's edgy and daring, driven, determined, and adventurous. Life with him hasn't been boring, and I know it won't be.

* * *

Tuesday, August 9th, 2005

Tomorrow is my one-year anniversary! I think Jason has something special planned, but I should probably remind him… He's been so wrapped up with his surfing competitions lately that it may have slipped his mind. I'll just mention it to him when he gets home tonight.

* * *

Thursday, August 11th, 2005

Well, he forgot. I can't really blame him. The more he surfs, the better he gets, and the more money he makes from sponsors. It was kind of…sad, though. Sitting at home alone all day and all night. He didn't get home until this morning. Something about celebrating the end of this particular run of competitions. I don't know. I would have liked to celebrate with him, but I can understand him not wanting to drive all the way home to pick me up. We live a good distance from the competitive surfing stretch of the beach, as well as the city. Our house is adorable, though. It's a two-bedroom thing, nice and cozy, and we have neighbors on both sides and behind us—older couples that are usually housing a brood of grandchildren each weekend. I spend most of my time with Mr. and Mrs. Kalolo, the seventy-something-year-olds that live to the left of us. They have four children, each of which is married, and a total of thirteen grandchildren with two more on the way. There are always kids around for me to help out with, and the Kalolos are so sweet. One day, Jason and I will have that.

* * *

Tuesday, January 31st, 2006

Jason hasn't been home in a week and a half… I think I'll stay with the Kalolos again this weekend.

* * *

Monday, March 27th, 2006

I absolutely love the Kalolos. I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful all of these kids are. Lima, Mr. and Mrs. Kalolo's youngest daughter, is due to deliver her third child in two weeks, so we'll be having a baby shower tonight and everyone is coming—all eight children or in-laws, all thirteen grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. Kalolo, myself, and two nearly-born babies. I'm in charge of decorating beforehand and taking pictures during the event. I offered to help with the cooking…but Mrs. Kalolo knows how dismal my cooking skills are.

* * *

Saturday, April 1st, 2006

Jason came home yesterday morning, and I barely recognized him. His usual laidback choice of clothing was replaced with a crisp black suit, shiny black shoes, and a very chique hairstyle. He looked handsome, and I told him so, but he wasn't happy for some reason. I asked him how his touring had gone—he'd been away for a month, touring around Hawaii with his sponsors—and he didn't seem to want to talk about it. So, I told him about my past month with the Kalolos and the party that I had to leave to prepare for. That's when things went…awry. He was furious, shouting and waving his arms around wildly, his hair being worked out of its gelled death grip. He was still as temperamental as the day I had met him, but I really didn't understand this time. I tried to explain to him that I hadn't been expecting him home until the next day, but he wouldn't hear it.

He didn't let me go to the baby shower. He made me call Mrs. Kalolo and fake an illness… I don't think she bought it, but she was wise enough not to ask too many questions. I was willing to bet all of my measly savings that she had seen Jason's new Mercedes pull into the driveway.

* * *

Saturday, July 8th, 2006

Jason left for another tour yesterday. Finally. He had been a complete tyrant since April. I was only allowed out of the house to go to the grocery store. That's it. He only left the house to go spend his money. When that happened, I would sneak next door to talk with the Kalolos and get caught up with the kids.

I miss them, all of them, my giant family. What's more, I miss my little family in La Push. I desperately want to go and visit, but when I asked Jason a few weeks ago he told me flat out that we would not be going to Washington any time soon. He hates the rain and the excess of trees. I haven't bucked up the courage to tell him that I would go alone, but I will. I'll tell him when he gets back from wherever he went.

* * *

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

I haven't really updated in a while, huh? Well, there hasn't been much to say. I basically sit at home all day and night now that Jason's home, and my grocery runs are hardly noteworthy. I've taken up drawing and painting—with watercolors because they didn't have anything better at the market than the cheap things children use. Art brings me such joy. I wish I could go out to the beach to use my camera… (I stopped taking pointless photos of this house a few months ago. Who wants pictures of a prison?)

* * *

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

Last month, I started saving money in my jewelry box. I only had a few coins that I had found in the couch while cleaning: 59 cents. Now that it has been just over a month of collecting and saving, I have $10.31. It's not a lot, not nearly enough for a plane ticket home, but I refuse to outright steal from the limited funds I'm allotted for groceries. Besides, Jason would notice; he always checks the receipts when I get home.

* * *

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Last night was Halloween…my favorite holiday. I'm sad to say that I couldn't go out to see the kids. However, Jason did leave to "celebrate" with some of his "buddies", so I took the opportunity to hop next door. Mr. and Mrs. Kalolo were so happy to see me; and I, them. The younger grandchildren were all already sleeping, but the older kids gathered around me and told me all of the exciting things that have been going on with them. Some of them even put their costumes back on to do a little fashion show for me. I swear, kids grow so quickly.

* * *

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Yeah, it's Valentine's Day. Jason has taken to disappearing for days at a time again, and he left late Tuesday night and hasn't come back. I don't think he'll be back until Monday, at the earliest, so I'm going to stay with the Kalolos. I can't be in this house anymore.

* * *

Friday, February 15th, 2008

He came home earlier than expected. Around 2 o'clock this morning, I woke up to the sound of a banging on the front door of the Kalolos' house. (Like I said yesterday, I couldn't stay in my own house anymore…so, was staying with them.) Mr. Kalolo got to the door before I could, and there was my "husband". He was furious and smelled of all sorts of disgusting things. If I hadn't been so scared, I might have been embarrassed. But, I was scared. Very scared. Jason was drunk and there was something about his eyes that I had never seen before, but I had read about that particular gleam in stories.

I left my things in the bedroom that the Kalolos had given me sometime last year, and I simply left their home without a word. I couldn't even look at them as I stepped through their front door. I could hear Jason stumbling along behind me, and I somehow knew what was coming. The front door of our own house was barely closed before he set in on me.

It's a good thing I'm not allowed out of the house, because there is no way I could ever go out looking like this.

* * *

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

I'm pregnant. I wish I could say that this is unexpected, but after my luck the past few years…

Jason, who never leaves for more than a day at a time now, came home late on the day of our anniversary (such as it is) and he was drunk. As usual. I expected him to just sleep in the guest bedroom, another usual, but he busted into the room we should have been sharing happily.

I won't say that I was raped. Because I wasn't. It was either participate willingly or make it worse for myself, so I did what I had to in order to…well, save myself some physical pain. And now I'm pregnant. I have to get out of here.

* * *

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

I don't know what it is about holidays, but they make Jason more violent…

I lost the baby today.

* * *

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Jason found my savings. All $181.92 is gone. My jewelry is gone. All of my valuable belongings are gone. And I think I may have a broken rib this time.

* * *

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

It happened again… Jason came home drunk and decided that he wanted to have sex with me. I told him no this time, though, despite what I knew would happen. I was right, fighting is worse. I can't even begin to describe the pain I felt or the violation I still feel. I was raped nearly two weeks ago, and no amount of scrubbing in the shower will get rid of the feeling.

* * *

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

I've been having morning sickness, and I have now missed two periods.

I have no money, but I know where to get some. I just have to find a way to get help first… I'll need a car and someone to pre-order the ticket for me.

* * *

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Jason finally left the house today. That or he left while I was sleeping last night. Either way, I ran next door early this morning to talk to the Kalolos. I told them everything. Everything. I don't even have to tell you how appalled they were, I'm sure you can gather that for yourself. Mr. Kalolo sat down at his computer immediately and bought me a plane ticket, no questions asked. In fact, I hadn't even had to tell them that I planned on leaving. My original plan was to ask them to buy it for me, and the day I left I would take the money from Jason's wallet while he slept to pay them back. When I told them this, Mrs. Kalolo seemed a bit offended and Mr. Kalolo told me that I didn't owe them anything, ever. I was an emotional mess after that, of course. They are such kind and amazing people.

* * *

Monday, January 4th, 2010

I just got onto the plane that will take me home. I'm terrified. So many new worries are slapping me in the face, and I don't know what to do about them. What if Jason turns his anger onto the Kalolos? What if he tries to find me? What if he _does_ find me? I can't let him near me or those I love. I won't.


	2. Chapter 1: Homecoming

**A/N:** Here's the first chapter! Huzzah! (: Let me know what you think.

* * *

It was nearing 8 o'clock in the evening when the rental car pulled up the drive of the small, cabin-like house. The driver dimmed the headlights and turned to look into the backseat. "Do you need help with your bags, miss?" he asked. He was a man of about thirty years, and he had a kindly look to his eyes that made Rebecca comfortable enough to smile when she shook her head no. She only had one bag, after all, and it was very light.

The man nodded his understanding and turned the car off before getting out to open her door. Suddenly consumed by nerves, Rebecca took in the house with wide eyes. "Miss?" the man asked, leaning down to peer into the car at her. "Would you like me to take you somewhere else?"

Rebecca cleared her throat and accepted his outstretched hand. "No, no. Thank you. I just haven't been…home…in a while." She gave him a nervous smile and patted his hand to show that she was being honest. The man really was being sweet, and she felt bad for worrying him so much. Fetching her single dufflebag from the floor space near where her feet had just been, she turned once more to address the driver. "Thank you for driving me," she said, hoping he would understand the weight behind her words. He gave her a smile and shook her hand. With his free hand, he pulled a card out of one of his pockets.

"If you ever need a driver or help, go ahead and give me a call." She smiled and nodded, grateful, as he returned to his car. He stuck his arm out the window and waved to her as he drove away, and she waved back with a chuckle.

Both smile and good humor fell away as she heard the screen door slam shut. Someone was behind her. She knew that it was probably Jacob or Rebecca, Billy had always made one of them answer the door growing up. Having to roll his wheelchair all the way over to the door, then maneuver it around the opening door was just too much wasted effort. She pivoted slowly, fighting the urge to run away and hide in the forest. It had been so long since she had been home or called…

When she was finally facing the person who was up on the porch, her jaw dropped. Brother and sister stood with mirroring expressions, both shocked by what they were seeing. She was stunned by how _massive_ he was, how…adult he was. In turn, he was stunned by the fact that she was even there.

"Who's at the door?" The gruff voice came from inside the house, just beyond the closed screen door. The living room. "Jacob?"

"Becca?" Jacob asked, his voice breathless as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

"What? Jacob, who's there?" Billy Black's voice called out louder. No doubt he was getting frustrated with the lack of information.

Jacob took a step closer to his sister, the step was large enough to bring him to the end of the porch. "Becca? You… Hi." His awkwardness was enough to melt a little of Rebecca's nerves. Same old Jacob. He was still in there somewhere, even if he was a giant now.

"Hi, Jake." She approached the porch at a slow pace, watching him the whole time. "I know I wasn't really expected… I should have called…" Rebecca stood at the bottom of the porch steps and dipped her head down to examine her shoes. When had they become so old and worn looking? "C-Can I come i—"

Her question was lost someplace in Jacob's t-shirt. He was hugging her tightly and, before she could free herself, spinning around with her legs dangling helplessly. "I'm so glad you're here! When did you get back? How long are you staying? Is Jason with you? Why haven't you called? It's been _years!_ Look how small you are! Have you shrunk? Where's all your luggage? Why are we stan—"

"Jake!" It was her turn to cut him off. "Jake, calm down. Let's go inside before dad wheels himself out here and misses whatever game is on TV." Such a warm welcome had been part of her wishful thinking on the airplane, "wishful" being the key word. She hadn't actually expected things to go so well.

"Jacob Ephriam Black! Don't make me come out there!"

Rebecca gave her brother a look that said, _See, what did I tell you._ He grinned at her, took her bag, and grabbed her hand with his free one. They were tumbling up the steps and into the living room within seconds.

"Dad! Look who showed up." Jacob pushed Rebecca in front of their father who sat there, looking as if he were watching two squirrels do the tango.

His silence was a bit unnerving for Rebecca, but it was to be expected after her six years of absence and four years of silence. Nonetheless, she hoped he wasn't angry. She needed her daddy now. Biting her lip, she willed the tears at the back of her eyes to go away. This was going to be a happy reunion. No waterworks.

Billy blinked a few times and smiled slowly. "Come here, you," he demanded, stretching his arms wide. Rebecca lost it then, and the tears fell as she flung herself onto her father's lap. Arms around his neck, she cried silently. This wasn't the sobbing of heartbreak or the weeping of loss, it was the soft crying of release and comfort. It felt so good to be hugged by her family, to be home where she should have been all along.

Father and daughter pulled back after a few moments, and he ran his hand along her hair to smooth it back from her face. She felt like a little girl again, the feeling comforted her. "We'll talk tomorrow, hm?" he asked. She nodded her consent. Her dad had always been quick to catch on. "I'll make you up some hot cocoa for you to take to bed with you." Rebecca smiled and nodded again. Then, after giving him one more hug, she climbed off of his lap. Jacob still held her bag and he pulled it out of her reach when she held her hand out for it. She rolled her eyes good naturedly.

Minimal speaking. That was family. After years of not even contacting them, she had shown up on their doorstep and they welcomed her without a question—well, Jacob had spouted off a load of questions, but he wasn't demanding about answers. Her dad was even wheeling himself into the kitchen to make her some hot cocoa. He knew her, even though things had changed and she had changed and they had changed. He knew to hold her silently while she cried, stroke her hair to soothe her, and to make her cocoa to send her into a relaxed sleep. This is what she had needed.

"Coming?" Jacob asked, standing in the doorway to the kitchen-dining room. Rebecca followed him and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Where's Rachel?" Though they had decided to wait until the next day to talk-talk, Rebecca couldn't wait that long to hear about her twin, her sister, her best friend before she had disappeared off the face of the continent.

Jacob sat down at the table with a plate heaped with what could only be described as a mound of leftover spaghetti. Seriously, it was a mountain. He looked as if he could eat it though, he was so huge. "She moved in with her fiancé, Paul," he said. His tone expressed his lack of pleasure in regards to the situation. Rebecca raised her eyebrows, signaling him to continue. "Paul is…difficult. Arrogant. Pig-headed."

Laughing, Rebecca nudged his arm. "Sounds like someone else we know. Right dad?" Billy laughed too and nodded from the other side of the kitchen.

"That's what I said. Paul is difficult, but that's because he's a male. All males are difficult. Jake just doesn't like him because he's overprotective of Rachel." Rebecca nodded knowingly. She would have to get to know Paul to make her own decision of him; but if Rachel approved, chances were she would too.

As the timer on the stove went off, Jacob subconsciously got up to help Billy. The two of them moved around the kitchen easily despite Jacob's size and Billy's chair, and the result was three steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Billy rolled up to his spot at the table as Jacob brought the drinks. The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Billy finally shifted to look at Rebecca.

"Want me to call Rach over tomorrow?" he asked. What he was really asking was whether this was a family discussion to be had or a father-daughter discussion only.

Rebecca thought for a moment before answering, "Yeah, she should probably be here too. It'll be easier that way." Billy nodded and took a drink, Jacob stared into his mug. Rebecca knew that his curiosity was probably burning for answers, but he would just have to wait like everyone else.

The trio sat in thoughtful yet comfortable silence for some time before Billy emitted a content sigh. "Well, I'm off to bed. Jake, don't forget to—" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes fastened on Rebecca. "—to, uh, take the rest of the trash out." He pushed away from the table and rolled over to his daughter. "It's good to have you home, Becca," he said as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Sleep well." With that, he practically bolted from the room as fast as his wheelchair would take him without making him look as if he were running away.

Obviously out of the loop, Rebecca rounded on Jacob. Before she could say anything, however, he was stretching and faking a yawn so huge she was surprised the dishes didn't rattle in the sink. "I'm turning in, too." Rising from what was most likely a very cramped position under the table, he kissed the top of her head and loped out of the room. Rebecca was left in the kitchen alone, staring after her secretive brother and father. Apparently, there was more to be talked about the following day than just_ her_ issues.


	3. Chapter 2: Rejoining Society

**A/N:** So, this one turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be. Haha. Just a bit of fun between siblings, some re-making of acquaintances, blah blah blah. I'm sensing an Embry appearance soon...

* * *

The room of Rebecca's childhood was upstairs, right next to the room Rachel had inhabited growing up. The rooms were equal in size and simple in shape—rectangles on the smaller end of the scale, but suitable for any one person's needs. The rooms went from the front of the house to the back of the house, windows on the outer three walls, and were connected in the middle by a full bathroom. Rebecca's room was painted a light green, the ceiling was white to match the moldings and doors, the carpet was a neutral color speckled faintly with green.

Without hesitation, the woman closed the pocket door, dropped her duffle bag, and went right to her bed. The top cover was a quilt her grandmother had made her years ago, and the same pillows were fluffed at the head of her bed. Nothing looked dusty, which was nice, but she knew she would have to wash the bedding the next day; while she trusted her brother to dust once in a while, laundry was completely out of his realm—at least, it had been six years ago. As she stripped down to nothing and crawled under the covers, Rebecca was amused to see that the analog alarm clock next to her bed read 6:23. It had died at some point, but the batteries hadn't been changed.

Rebecca didn't know what time she had fallen asleep the previous night, but she figured it was right after noticing her dead alarm clock since that was the last thing she recalled thinking about. She didn't remember dreaming either, and she chalked it up to exhaustion. There was a point where you just couldn't stay awake and worry anymore, there was a point where sleep overruled dreams and kept the nightmares at bay. The past few years had been filled with sleepless or restless nights, being at home must have given her body the cue to sleep. Whatever the reason, she was beyond happy to wake up in the soft glow of her bedroom.

After peeking to make sure all of the blinds in her room were closed, she got out of bed and scowled at her bag. She didn't want to wear anything in there. But what choice did she have? There would be nothing in the closet because she had taken it with her, so it looked like she would have to— Oh, wait. Rachel probably still had some things in _her_ closet. Pulling on her clothes from yesterday just in case somebody looked up the stairs at the right moment, she slipped out of her room and into Rachel's. There were slim pickings in her closet, but the pair of skinny jeans she found fit well and the white t-shirt was comfortable. Rebecca also borrowed a pair of her sister's moccasins. She would have to go out and buy a few items from the thrift store in Port Angeles with the money Mr. Kalolo had slipped her before she boarded the plane.

Before dressing, Rebecca went into the bathroom that connected her room to Rachel's. The theme had changed from Hawaiian colors and flowers to dark green and wild flowers. Thank goodness. She showered, savoring the safety and familiarity she felt in the small area.

By the time she traipsed down the stairs and into the kitchen, it was about 9 o'clock. Her father was just rolling in as well. "Good morning, dad," she greeted, bending at the waist to kiss his cheek.

"G'morning," he replied, pleased to see her but not quite awake. He immediately set to making coffee. Leaving him to it, Rebecca started raiding the cabinets for something tasty. She didn't like coffee, never had, but she did like tea. Finding it in the house would take a miracle, though—especially since it was just Jake and Billy living there.

"What do you need, Becca?"

"Tea. That black crap you drink is…" She didn't finish her sentence, just shuddered.

Billy laughed and dug his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash, handed her a fifty-dollar bill and said, "I know you'll be here a while, so go buy some things you want." When Rebecca made to protest, he silenced her. "Jake went shopping for us yesterday, before you got here, so we're stocked up. You, on the other hand, probably eat differently than that giant and my old self. So take the truck and get to it."

She shook her head, a smile on her face. "You aren't half as grumpy as you pretend to be, dad. I'll be back in an hour or so." Again, she kissed his cheek. The keys were hanging on a little rack by the front door, as they had been doing since she had lived there, and she took the set with the truck key on it. She had one foot on the porch when the anxiety set in. This would be the first time her face would be seen in La Push in years. She didn't want to do it alone.

"Daddy!" she called as she rushed back in. "Where's Jake? He's coming with me."

Billy looked up from his breakfast and jerked a thumb in the direction of Jacob's bedroom. "He doesn't get up until noon, and that's at the earliest." Rebecca scowled. How could anyone waste a day like that?

"Not today. He's going grocery shopping with me."

Determined, she marched straight to the back of the house where her father's room and her brother's room were located. She was not going to take no for an answer. She needed food which meant she had to go to the store, and she was not going to go alone her first day back. No, sir.

When she made it into his room, Jacob was sprawled out on his stomach, one arm and one foot hanging off the bed, his mouth open. He was snoring quietly and apparently sleeping very hard.

"Jake, time to get up!" No response.

Rebecca grabbed his dangling foot and shook it around. Nothing.

"Ja-ake," she called as she continued to shake his foot. He wasn't budging. Narrowing her eyes, she poked him in the ribs a few times. Still nothing. She knew he was ticklish when awake, so his not responding only reinforced for her how soundly he was sleeping.

_Too bad,_ she thought.

"Jacob Ephraim Black! Let's go!" She was yelling now, but he wasn't having any of that. It was a bit frustrating for her, but she wasn't one to give up easily either. She took a step back and considered her options: she could go traditional and use water, go obnoxious and jump on his bed, or go for scary by shrieking in his ear. She wasn't one for making messes and she didn't want to do any damage to his ears, so she went for jumping.

Grinning because she'd become excited, she climbed up onto his bed, put one foot on either side of him, and started bouncing. The bed barely moved under his weight, so she put more pressure into it. Soon, he was being bounced gently on the bed. The whole thing was taking a lot more effort than she was expecting (then again, the last time she had done this, he had been her size or smaller). Rebecca huffed out a breath and kept going, adding more and more of her weight to get him to move more.

Jacob grunted and Rebecca stilled immediately to lower herself into a crouch. He was moving, burying his head into his mattress. "Oh, no you do don't!" Knowing what to do this time, she jumped into the air and landed on the mattress forcefully. Jacob was bounced quickly and jarringly.

"What the _hell?_" he grumbled as he rolled over. When he saw Rebecca grinning down at him, he just stared. Then, he closed his eyes and rolled onto his stomach again. Rebecca drew her brows together and dropped herself onto his back. There was no way he had just fallen asleep again. Instead of bouncing, she resorted to digging her fingers into his ribs on either side.

"Get up! Get up! Get up!" she taunted. "We're going to the store." Her brother didn't budge. Narrowing her eyes, she knew what she had to do. She brought her index fingers to her mouth, licked both of them audibly that way he would hear, and lowered them toward his head. The result was perfect.

"NO! DON'T DO IT!" Jacob cried, squirming beneath her and covering his ears with his hands. He would have just rolled over and sent her sprawling to the floor, but he didn't want to hurt her. "I'm up! I'm getting up!"

"You swear?" Rebecca demanded, licking her fingers again.

"Yes, yes, I swear! Just keep your wet willies away from me!"

Satisfied, Rebecca dried her fingers on her pants and moved to stand outside of his room, the door closed. Jacob got up, too, but a little more slowly. He was groggy, she could tell, but he was going to just have to get dressed and deal. "Let's go, I'm hungry!" She was pretty good at finding patience in most situations, but food was not something to be toyed with.

"I'm coming, woman. Hold your horses."

She did. As patiently as she could muster while her stomach grumbled and her foot tapped. She could hear him banging around his room and muttering to himself, the latter making her grin smugly. _Doesn't get up until noon, my ass,_ she thought with her smug grin still in place.

In another ten minutes, Jacob and Rebecca were in the car and driving toward the main part of town. Well, she was driving. He was just sitting in the passenger seat, sulking; he was up way too early and he didn't get to drive. Rebecca had begged and pleaded with him to let her drive, telling him that she hadn't driven in _years_—fortunately, he hadn't asked why. She wasn't quite ready to tell him that her husband hadn't wanted her "escaping".

The drive was a quiet one and Jake eventually got over his poutiness enough to turn the radio on. It was simple things like this, like driving in companionable silence with someone, that Rebecca had missed the most while in Hawaii.

Rebecca parked the truck in front of the store and took a few deep breaths. Jacob noticed and reached over to pry her hands off of the steering wheel. "C'mon, Becca, it won't be that bad," he soothed. She nodded once and dislodged herself from the seat that way she could get out. Another deep breath.

Nobody was around to see them as they strolled from the parking lot and into the building, and the first few people were people that Rebecca didn't recognize. They were walking through the fruit section when her caramel brown eyes met the dark chocolate brown of Emily Young's. They stared for a few moments, Emily snapping out of it before Rebecca could figure out what to do. The taller woman left her basket where it was and hurried forward to embrace Rebecca. "Rebecca Black! Where have you been? How are you?" Her excitement was rather embarrassing, but welcome just the same.

"Oh, just Hawaii, really. I'm good, thanks. How are you?" she asked, trying to shift the topic of conversation away from herself.

"Great, thanks! Gosh, it's so good to see you. It's been so long. I mean, I haven't seen you since—"

Rebecca finished for her, "High school, yeah."

Emily nodded and asked, "What brings you back to La Push?"

With great difficulty, Rebecca managed not to flinch outwardly. She knew that someone would ask, but she hadn't figured out what exactly to tell everyone. How could she tell people that she was running away from an abusive relationship? She couldn't. Rebecca Jaci Black had never been the type of girl to get herself into such situations, then _stay_ in them. She was always strong and independent. Rebecca Gaugakao should never have existed.

"I left my husband," she said, leaving out any and all details. She heard Jacob, who was standing behind her, suck in a breath; this was the first he was hearing of why his sister had returned.

Eyes wide, Emily was quiet. "I… I'm sorry, Becca," she replied after a time, turning to face Rebecca fully. It was Rebecca's turn to be surprised; the right side of Emily's face was heavily scarred.

"Forget me, what happened to you?" she exclaimed, leaping forward to run her fingers along Emily's scars as if they were back to being high school friends again. Seeing her old friend with the remains of physical pain put Rebecca back over six years, back to her school days when Emily was one of her closest friends.

Emily patted Rebecca's hand and smiled easily, her discomfort only barely visible in her eyes. "Just a wild animal, B. It happened years ago, nothing to worry about now." Rebecca just frowned. Wild animal?

"If you say so."

Sensing that an immediate flip in conversation was in order, Jacob jumped in. "Hey, Becca, guess who's married now," he hedged, jerking his head in Emily's direction. Jaw slack, Rebecca looked back to Emily's eyes for confirmation, saw the instant happiness that appeared, and then looked to her left hand. A simple, beautiful diamond ring was wrapped there. Her eyes moved back to Emily in a silent question.

"Sam and I," she explained. "It will be 3 years this spring."

Rebecca didn't know what to say. Her emotions went from elated to confused within a breath of time, and Emily saw the change. However, she made no move to explain further.—_What happened to Leah?_—Instead, she sent Jacob what looked to be a warning glance before telling Rebecca that she had to get going. This and that to do, things to buy, people to see, and so forth.

"Jacob," Rebecca said as she watched Emily collect her basket and walk toward a different area of the store, "you and dad have some explaining to do."

It didn't take long for Rebecca to collect the food supplies she would want for the next couple of weeks—tea, fruits, veggies, sandwich supplies and the like. What took the pair so long to get out of the store was confrontations similar to that with Emily Young, or Emily Uley as she was now called. An older couple Rebecca had babysat for as a teen, another old schoolmate she hadn't been very close with, and a few locals—they all wanted to know where she had been and why she was back. She stuck to the simple explanation that she had left her husband. The people she talked to seemed to pity her, which she didn't quite understand. What was there to feel sorry for? _She_ had made the decision to leave _him_, so it was _him_ they should be pitying. Not her. Rebecca didn't try to explain that, though, because she preferred to keep each conversation as brief and detail-less as possible.

By the time they left the store and were nearing their house, it was 11 o'clock and almost lunch time. Jacob called Billy with his cell phone to let him know that they were nearly home, Billy told them that Rachel would be arriving at noon. That gave them enough time to get home, put groceries away, make lunch and eat. It didn't leave much room for worrying, though, which was something Rebecca very much felt like doing. Seeing Rachel for the first time in six years was going to be rough, there was no denying it.


	4. Chapter 3: Family Matters

**A/N:** Hi, hello! Thanks for baring with me through my computer issues, I know it's annoying to have to wait on chapters. But, here's the third chapter (finally) and I hope you like it! Oh, and there's a bit of mature content at the end, but it fades out (so don't be scared).

* * *

As young children, Rachel and Rebecca Black had been your typical twin girls. They did nearly everything together, liked the same things and had the same friends. The first few years of elementary school showed them new and exciting things, more so with each year they completed together, and they slowly found differing interests.

When middle school—or junior high school—came along, things shifted but did not break. Rachel liked to play soccer before school, during school, after school; Rebecca liked to read and doodle and color. Their changes in interests soon brought a shift in their circle of friends, too—again, it was just a shift, not a break. Rachel got closer to Kimberly Connweller, Leah Clearwater, and Danielle Schneider; Rebecca formed tighter bonds with Emily Young, Louise Faverton, and Helena Dearborn. The eight girls, though closer with some than others, always got together as a group, much as kids do before they hit the dramatics of secondary education.

High school pulled the subtle manipulations it always does on childhood friends: schedules filled up and became harder to switch, cliques formed, bridges between friends started to get worn out. Through it all, though, they stayed on good terms. It was a simple matter of drifting.

Rachel remembered the day of graduation, the day that should have been the start of her college life with her sister. They were supposed to go to Seattle State University and room together. However, the day revealed many things that she hadn't been expecting, the largest of which being that her sister had received and accepted a scholarship to the University of Hawaii Manoa. The news was given during their graduation dinner that evening. Rachel didn't talk to Rebecca for nearly two weeks. Devastated, Rebecca packed up and moved to Hawaii early after convincing her father to get her an apartment for the rest of the summer before school started. She arrived in early June of 2004, and now she was coming back?

"Babe!" called a gruff voice. Apparently, Paul had heard his fiancée banging around angrily in the kitchen. "Is everything okay?" he asked as he leaned his tall, lean frame against the doorway. His tone was gravely, he had just woken up, but his eyes were soft with concern.

Rachel sighed. "Rebecca's back in town."

Paul's eyebrows shot skyward and he immediately moved forward to loosely wrap his arms around the young woman. "When?"

"Last night, I guess." When he did nothing but wait for her to continue, she did. "Dad called about an hour ago to see if I could come over today. To talk." Her jaw clenched. "I'm going over there at noon, I should be home by one."

He nodded and leaned into her so that he had her backed up against the kitchen counter, his arms snaked around her thin frame and his face in her hair. His inhuman heat soothed her and melted her frayed nerves.

"Do you want me to go?"

She smiled into his neck and shook her head. He really was a sweetheart when it was just the two of them, everyone else just thought he was hot-tempered because they were only around for the bad moments. "I'll be fine. 'Sides, I have to do this alone, it's a family thing," she said softly. Being angry didn't give her the audacity to take away the familial ties to her sister. "I'll call you if anything changes." Rachel kissed Paul's cheek and ruffled his bedhead. "Go get some more sleep." He chuckled, spread kisses all over her face, and went back out the doorway he'd been leaning against minutes before.

Comforted though still anxious, Rachel finished washing up her lunch dishes before loading herself into her car and driving to her father's home. The drive—from the house she and Jared had moved into the previous summer to the house she had shared with her family since birth—took less that ten minutes. Not enough time for her to calm herself, but enough time for her anger to start simmering again. She just couldn't believe that her precious, _married_ sister was finally gracing them with her presence, and Rachel was the one that had to go out of her way to find out why.

The tires of her truck crunched on the gravel driveway as she pulled up to the house. Unlike Rebecca the night before, Rachel had no qualms about marching right in without knocking or ringing the doorbell. This had been her home, after all, and she was no stranger to it.

"We're in the kitchen!" Billy hollered, the volume not necessary being that the house was relatively small and the walls were thin. Nevertheless, she followed his voice into the dining room. Rebecca's back was to her but she was rising to her feet and turning as her sister walked in.

Jacob was hugging her before she could get a good look, though, and greeting her in his usual (albeit slightly nervous) way. "Hey, Rach. You hungry? We've got a bunch of sandwich meat and stuff. Becca and I just got back from—"

"I just ate," she snapped. Though she was immediately sorry for being so harsh toward him, she was having difficulty concentrating on anything but the big pair of hazel eyes in front of her, the irises that were so similar to her own.

Jacob mumbled something and went back to sit in his chair at the table, and Billy said nothing as he watched his girls. Rebecca, the older of the fraternal twins, was standing and facing her sister, a good four feet of space between them as they stared at each other. Her eyes were wide with something akin to fear, and her breathing seemed to have stopped altogether.

Rachel spoke first. "So, you're back." It was a statement, but she said nothing afterward which led Rebecca to think of it as a question. That, or she figured it to be an opening to the conversation she had been waiting to have with her family.

"Yes." Her voice was winded. She took a deep breath and gestured to the table. "I'll, uh, explain everything… If you have the time?" Rachel nodded and took a seat between her father and her brother, Rebecca took up her seat across from her. No one spoke, unsure of what to say.

The older twin cleared her throat and looked down at the scarred wood table as she searched for a way to begin. How should she explain her six years of absence?

"I guess I'll just start from the beginning," she said, more to herself than her audience. "Well, you all know that I left in June…" There was a series of agreeing words or gestures. "I couldn't stay here anymore. After mom died, I… It was just too hard being here in the first place, then you wouldn't even talk to me—" She glanced at Rachel. "—not that I blame you. I should have told you my plans from the beginning, I know, but we made our peace about that during the first year…through our emails and stuff. You guys know that I eloped in August, a few weeks after my birthday. You know that I went to school in the fall, then in the winter and the spring. I mean, we didn't lose touch—"

Rachel scoffed at this point and Rebecca's jaw clenched the way her sister's had a while ago. "Fine. _I_ didn't break off contact until the second winter I was in Hawaii. Things with Jason had started going downhill and I didn't know how to handle it, I—I didn't know how to act like everything was in my control."

Jacob was leaning forward in his chair, arms propped on the table. "What do you mean 'downhill'?" he asked venomously. Smart Jacob, always jumping to the right conclusions. Only, he didn't know it, and he had caught on too early. _That_ particular bit of nastiness hadn't yet come into play.

"Well, for starters, he missed our first wedding anniversary. And he wasn't home much. I mean, his not being home much was pretty normal; he was a competitive surfer, you know, and he always had practices or things that he had to travel for. It just got…more frequent. Then, uh, well, I'd stay at our neighbors' house— The Kalolos, you guys would love them. They're the sweetest old couple you'll ever meet, and they have _loads_ of kids and grandkids always coming and going." Rachel noticed that her sister's face took on an obvious glow when she spoke of them. "Anyway, I'd stay over there and help out. We were getting ready for Lima's—that's Mr. and Mrs. Kalolo's youngest daughter—we were getting ready for her baby shower towards the end of March of 2006, so I was staying over there again when Jason got home early from one of his trips. He wasn't happy that I'd been over there, so he made me miss the shower. I couldn't go anywhere but to the supermarket after that, and he stayed home to make sure of that."

There was a frown on her face now, and she spoke as if she didn't know there were others in the room. "I started saving money, just the change I'd collect around the house while cleaning, in May of 2007. It was a slow process, but I wanted to get out of there and I knew that Jason wouldn't buy me my own plane ticket. I'd just stash the pennies and nickels in our room while he napped on the couch, or keep them in my pockets until I could get them to the hiding place."

Rebecca stopped at that point, a pained expression on her face. She was trying to leave out details that would upset her family or be too hard to talk about, but they wanted to know why she randomly came home, right? "I didn't get caught sneaking out until the night of Valentine's Day. He just came back early… He never came home that early! He'd always be gone for a few days, wherever he went. I didn't know he'd be back!" Her words were rushed and her voice trembled. "I paid for it, though." She cleared her throat and chewed on her lower lip, the pink flesh looked inflamed and raw from weeks of anxious gnawing. Rachel finally realized that her sister did not look well. There were dark purple suitcases beneath her eyes, her cheeks protruded oddly from her face—actually, all Rachel could see of her too thin to be healthy.

"I, uh, kept saving up money, but Jason found it and got rid of all of my valuable things last May… Certain things made it clear to me that I had to get out of that house, out of Hawaii. I mean, obviously, I had been thinking that for a while, but it took on a whole new level of importance when, uh…"

"What? What did he do?" Jacob sounded as if he was going to rip the table to shreds. Hell, he looked like it, too, with his knuckles as white as snowcaps as he gripped the wood in his hands.

Rebecca's eyes were filled to the brim, and she gave him a small, sad smile anyway. Despite the horror she'd been through the past few years, and her absence from him all of that time, Jacob was still the over-protective younger—but certainly bigger—brother. She didn't need to respond, he got the gist by her look. He started to growl; at least, that was the impression she got up until Billy laid his hand on Jake's arm in silent warning.

"So, what? You left him, right? What are you going to do now? What about school?"

Of course, Rachel would have to plan and think about the practical things. She had always been the thinker of the two of them, the one who knew everything that was going on. The older twin looked at her, a little annoyed and a little more hurt. "Obviously, I left him. I don't know what I'm doing yet, and I dropped out of school after the first semester of my second year." Her tone was clipped, waiting for her sister's judgment. It would come, it always did.

Sure enough, Rachel scowled. "You dropped out of school? What were you thinking?" The younger sister could not understand what Rebecca was saying. Rebecca Black never would have dropped out of school and stayed in an abusive relationship, this new Rebecca sitting before her was a stranger. "I guess that's the problem, huh? You _don't_ think."

It was such an old line—"You don't think."—but Rebecca felt her head snap up and her mouth fall open as if she'd been slapped. She had just told them all that she had been _beaten_ and _raped_, and all her sister could do was insult her?

"Are you kid—"

"Girls!" Billy's voice stopped the impending fight immediately, and both women turned to glare at him. "That's enough. Rachel, I am incredibly disappointed in your behavior. Go home and come back when you have your tongue under control. Rebecca, go make some tea."

Both females launched from the table, Rachel left the house with a slam and Rebecca started to bang around the kitchen. Billy shook his head and looked over at his son. Jacob had his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. "Son." The young man lifted his dark head to eye his father, and Billy examined him carefully. Jake was breathing heavily and his pupils were shifting wildly between dilated states. "Go for a run, Jake." His son did as he was told, practically fleeing the house.

Rebecca waited until the house was quiet enough to hear the wind outside before she returned to the table with two mugs, coffee for her father and tea for herself. She stirred her spoon idly while she waited for him to speak. The tea was still too hot to drink.

"Becca," he started, but she didn't let him finish. She moved her chair right next to his wheelchair and put her head on his shoulder. The tears were building up again, but she wasn't the only one this time. Shakily, Billy lifted a hand to stroke her hair. "When are you due?"

Her head shot up and she stared at him, but he made no move to explain how he had known. "August, I—I think," she whispered. "But how—"

"Girl, I am your daddy." He smiled with troubled eyes. "You didn't leave that sick bastard when it was just you being abused, but 'it took on a whole new level of importance when…' Your brother and sister may have missed it, and I may be old but I'm not stupid." Billy wiped away the salty water rolling down his daughter's cheeks, pulled her forward gently to kiss her forehead.

"Have you been to a doctor yet?" She shook her head, no. "We'll make an appointment and get you in later this week." Though it wasn't a question and therefore warranted no response, she nodded in agreement anyway.

He shifted topics. "Rachel will come around." When she made to pull away and walk around the kitchen, he grabbed a lock of her hair and tugged her head back down to his shoulder—ever the daddy and ever in charge. Becca smiled a little. "You know how bad her temper is… And she had you up on a pedestal all these years, thinking you were off traveling the world as you'd said you would. She's just in shock right now," he explained knowingly, stroking her hair again.

_SLAM!_ She yanked the door closed behind her and stomped into her house. If there was one thing she was good at it, it was being angry. She and Paul had that in common, she thought with a rueful smile as she marched straight to the bedroom at the back of the house.

Paul had heard the door and met her in the hallway. "Things didn't go well?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she snarled.

"Hm, well." Her fiancé seemed to be a mixture of amused and curious as he tilted his head to the side and closed the distance between them. He knew what she wanted. They had this routine down pat. Their tempers occasionally became too much to deal with, so they took it out on each other through hot hate sex. It was quite productive, really, because it calmed down the angry person and satisfied them both.

Hands grabbing her hips, he slammed her into the wall next to the bathroom door. He wasted no time and started to drag his fingers up her sides, under her shirt. Her hands went to his hair to pull his mouth to hers so that she could shove her tongue down his throat. Paul grunted in response and returned the force in kind. Because that's what it was for them: the push and pull of force, the fight for control. Right now, Rachel needed a distraction that she could feel like she was controlling, and who was Paul to say no to great sex? Besides, she would have (and had) done the same for him.


End file.
